Liquid and other hydrocarbons and derivatives thereof by the destructive hydrogenation of carbonaceous materials



Feb. 16, 11932.. M. PIER ET AL 1,845,555

UID AND OTHER HYDROCARBONS AND DERIVATIVES THEREOF BY THE ILI DESTRUCTIVE HYDROGENATION OF CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS Filed March 51, 1928 d W44 TB? j'MO/V INVENTQRS mourn Patented Feb. 16, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HATHIAS PIER, OF HEIDELIBERG, AND WALTER SIMON, OF LUDWIGSEAFEN-ON-TEE- BEINE GEBMANY, ASSIGNORS, BY MESN'E ASSIGNMENTS, '1'0 STANDARD-I. G. CO1;- IPAN' X L OI' LINDEN, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE Application fled larch 81, 1838, Serial K o.

The present invention relates to themanufacture and production of valuable liquid and other hydrocarbons and derivatives thereof by the destructive hydrogenation of carbonaceous materials such as the various kinds of coal, tars, mineral oils distillation, extraction and conversion products thereof and the like by treatment with hydro en or gases containing or giving rise to by rogen at an elevated temperature and under pressure with the aid of catalysts.

' We have found that'when working according "to this process very valuable results are obtained by the employment of catalysts containing small amounts of silver or mixtures stituents which should be present only in small quantities, may be employed in such quantities as amount to about 10 per cent of the catalysts. These new catalysts may be employed either alone or in mixture with other suitable catalysts or with inert materials. Examples of inert materials are clay,

active coal, asbestos and the like. The process iscarried out under pressure preferably under high pressure of 50 atmospheres or more. Preferably the reaction is carried out excess.

at temperatures above 400 centigrade. The hydrogen is preferably employed in a large Instead of elementary hydrogen, gas mixtures containing hydrogen may also be employed, or gases may be used which contain combined hydrogen and from which the self. Preferably the hydrogenating gas is 886,448, and in Germany August 11, 1828.

employed in a circulatory system while replacing the comsumed portion of the gas by fresh gas.

Intimate contact between the materials to be treated and the hydrogenating gas may be efl'ected for example by stirring or by exposing the initial materials to the hydrogenating gas in thin layers or b atomizing or spraying the initial materia also by the employment of porous layers or plates on which the material to be treated rests and through which the hydrogenating as is pressed in. Such amounts of catalyst 1n reference to the amount of material to be subjected to the destructive hydrogenation are employed, that the whole amount of the in- OTHER HYDBDOARBONS AND DERIVATIVES THEREOF BY, THE DESTBUO- I TIVIQI HYDROGENATION 0F CABBONACEOUSYMATEBIALS itial material to be converted comes into sufiicient contact with the catalyst.

Those parts of the apparatus which come into contact with the hot reacting materials should preferably be ke t free from, all such substances as would lea to the separation of carbon and'the formation of methane. With this end in view the'said parts of the up;

paratus may be made of or coatedwith' al uminium or highly alloyed steels. In the accompanying drawing an apparatus for carrying out the process according to the present invention is illustrated diagrammatically artly in vertical section. The invention is, owever, not limited to the apparatus illustrated which maybe varied at will in accordance with the conditions of working. Referring to the drawing in detail reference numeral 1 indicates a feed line from an convenient source of liquid raw materia The line 1 discharges to a grinding mechanism 2 fitted with a hop er 3 throu h which solid materials may be admitted. I desired, the grinding mechanism can be by-passed by line 1a when no solid materials are used. The suspension of solid materials in liquid or the liquid alone may be then forced by pump 5 through a line 4 to a. heat exchanger 6 and thence by line 7. into areaction chamber 8; The reaction chamber is constructed in any preferred manner and ,shouldbe adapted to withstand high pressures, for example, .20,

.100 or even as lll h as 1000 atmospheres, as

well as the corrosive effects of the reactants.

The vessel is preferably proiected from loss of heat by a suitable insulating cover 9 and may be heated by electric coils 10 which are arranged within the drum. The con tents of the drum are preferably kept in a state of agitation by means of a stirring mechanism 11 and the catalytic materials 1.1 as indicated above may be attached to the stirring mechanism so that the catalyst is brought into intimate contact with the contents of the vessel.

Hydrogen under high pressure is forced througha line 12. heat exchanger 13 and then by line 14 into the base of the reactor 8 into which it is preferably discharged through a spray pipe 15. A liquid level may be maintained in the drum, for example at the point 16a and gas and vaporous products may be continuously withdrawn by vapor line 16 which is in communication with exchanger 13 and a cooling coil. or condenser 17. The con- (lensate and gas is discharged into a separating drum 18 from which the distillate is re moved by line 19 to storage, not shown. The gas may be taken oli by a pipe 20 to a purifying system indicated at 21, and which may comprise a scrubbing system preferably carried out at high pressure using, for example, soda to remove hydrogen sulfide and oil to remove hydrocsrbon constituents from i'hc- Purified is then rccompressed by a boostor pump 22 and is forced again into the drogen feed line 12. Fresh hydrogen may be introduced by line 23. if desired, oil may be continuously removed from the drum by a line 24 which communicates with heat er:- changer 6 and which is withdrawn lo siou age, not shown, by a suitable line The following examples will further illustrate how the said invention may be car-- ried out in practice, but the invcni'ion is not limited thereto.

Ewmngiic 1 Crude cresylic acid. "from lignite car is passed in a current of hydrogen in excess under a pressure of 200 atmospheres at 450 centigrade over a catalyst consisting of tenta-lic acid with about 10 per cent of silver. Those parts of the apparatus, which are hot and come into coni-actwith the reacting ma terials consist of chromium-nickelsteel. On cooling the gases and vapors leaving the reaction vessel a liquid product entirely free from phenols is obtained, which consists in the main of toluene and a certain amount of benzene and hydroaromatic hydrocarbons Ebzamplc f5 Tar obtained by the low temperature carbonization of German lignii'cs, which coin tains phenols, is converted into'a producc oi the nature of middle oils by means of hydrogen under a pressure of 200 atmospheres and at 420 centigrade with the addition of bauxthis producl; is then passed in a voporou to in a currcn' of hydrogen in excess ct do :eniigrude and under a pressure of 200 atmospheres over a catalyst consisting of molybdic acid with 16 per cent of silver. The hydrogen. is pumped round in the circulatory system, the gas consumed in the reaction being replaced by fresh gas. On cooling the vapors issuing from the res catelys action vessel, a liquid product is obtained which is free from phenols and is complete ly saturated, and which contains more than 90 per ccni, of benzine,

Eaqample 3 out in a circulatory system, and care is when that an excess of hydrogen is always present and that "(he hydrogen consumed in the reaction is always replenished by fresh the pressure being continuously maintains. (in cooling the producis coming from "he reaction vessel, a liquid product is obtained containing to per cent of benzine.

i hat we claim is z-- y l. A process for destructive hydrogenw tion of bituminous materials which com prises acting on said materials wiizh hydrogen at a temperature suficient i0 elfect the conversion, and a pressure of at least 50 atmospl es in the presence of a catalyst conmining at least two constituents, the one bcing selected from the group consisting of silver, mixtures of copper with zinc and mixiures of copper with csdmiun'i, and being present in amounts up to end about 10 percent and the other comprising substantially larger amount of a substance selected from the class consisting of aluminium, iaiienium, vanadium, tantalum, molybdenum, chroinium; tungsten, their oxides and oxy acids 2. A process for the destructive hydrogc-- nation of b wminous materials which coinprises coring on said materials wii'n a Si -resin of hydrogen at a temperature suflicient to effect the conyersion, and a pressure of least 50 atmospheres in the prose: 1, catalyst containing the one being from i sisiving silver, mixtures o, and mixtures of co, p

present in sin s up in and about 1 per centend the ohcr comprising a substantially larger amoun'i; of a substance se- 1 211 "wish Kills with cadmium, and.

ill)

lected from the class consisting of aluminium, titanium, vanadium, tantalum, molybdenum, chromium, tungsten, their oxides and oxy acids.

5 3. A process as defined in claim 2 wherein the hydrogen is employed in a large excess.

4. A process as defined in claim 1 wherein the temperature is at least 400 C.

5. A process for the destructive hydrogenation of carbonaceous materials which comprises acting on said materials with hydrogen at a temperature sufiicient to effect the I conversion and a pressure of at least 50 atmospheres in the presence of a catalyst containing at least two constituents, the one being selected from the group consisting of silver, mixtures of copper with zinc and mixtures of copper with cadmium and being present only in amounts of up to and about 10 per cent, and the other comprising a substantially larger amount of a substance selected from the class consisting of aluminum, titanium, vanadium, tantalum, their oxides and oxy acids.

$5 6. A process for the destructive hydrogenation of bituminous materials which comprises acting on said materials with hydrogen at a temperature sufiicient to eflectthe conversion and a pressure of at least 50 atmos- F pheres in the presence of a catalyst containing at least two constituents, the one being selected from the group consisting of mixtures of copper with zinc and mixtures of copper with cadmium, and being present in amounts of up to and about 10 per cent, and the other com rising a substantially larger amount of a substance selected from the class consisting of tungsten, its oxides and oxy acids.

7. A process for the destructive hydrogenation of bituminous materials which comprises acting on said materials with hydrogen at a temperature sufiicient to effect the conversion and a pressure of at least 50 atmospheres in the presence of a catalyst containing at least two constituent-s, the one being selected from the group consisting of mixtures of copper with zinc and mixtures of copper with cadmium, and being present in amounts of up to andabout 10 per cent, and the other comprising a substantially larger amount of a substance selected from the class consisting of chromium, its oxides and oxy acids.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

MATHIAS PIER. WALTER SIMON. 

